


Sunset

by traptrixnepenthes



Category: Tales of Symphonia
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-09
Updated: 2021-01-09
Packaged: 2021-03-12 20:20:57
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,337
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28641384
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/traptrixnepenthes/pseuds/traptrixnepenthes
Summary: thoughts about heroes, thoughts about songs
Relationships: Genis Sage/Mithos Yggdrasill
Comments: 1
Kudos: 7





	Sunset

The sun was setting again over that forest in eastern Tethe'alla, the one that had been razed by angels...however long ago. It was hard to keep track of time on a seemingly never-ending journey, and a couple times Genis had considered starting a journal or something to keep track, but it was probably an effort that wouldn't mean very much.

Being honest, before this journey, Genis hadn't been a very outdoorsy kind of person. He still had the stamina of an infant and the physical strength to match, and he'd never really cared to change either of those things--he was a mage, after all. Lloyd was his only friend that went charging around with abandon, and Colette and Genis had been content to just trail after him--but now he had a new friend who, he was only a little embarrassed to admit, was the subject of most of his thoughts these days.

Mithos was such a kind person, and Genis really wanted to impress him--but magical ability only went so far when it was between those of elven descent, and Genis got tired so easily whenever they did anything more active together and kept having to pause and rest when it seemed like Mithos had endless energy for absolutely anything. Right now, they were sitting together while Genis caught his breath after they'd been running around together trying to see how many different bugs they could find around the trees.

"It's been a while since I watched the sunset like this," Mithos said suddenly, and Genis looked over at him. His blue eyes were on the sky, and the fading light shined off his hair and made it look like he had shimmering flames in its place. "If I ever did, maybe. We never really had time for much sitting around like this when my sister and I were still moving around."

"I'm...glad I can watch it with you then." Jeez, talking was hard. Genis had really worn himself out today. "I've never had a chance to do something like this either. I used to go stargazing with Raine a lot, but it was never to just...sit like this. It's nice."

"I'm glad it's with you." Hopefully, in the red light of the sunset, Mithos wouldn't look over and notice that Genis was blushing. He was glad that he was getting to just sit with Mithos, too. "I wonder if you know just how happy I am that you keep coming back here just to see me."

"Probably about as happy as I am to see you again!" It had taken a few minutes, but Genis was mostly breathing normally again. His legs and arms hurt and trying to sleep tonight was going to be a pain, but it was worth it to be out here with Mithos. "I really do wish that...we could stay together."

Mithos was silent for a few moments, his gaze dropping from the sky to the forest before them. "...There's a song my sister used to sing to me."

"Huh?"

"I think it's an elvish lullaby, so...one of our parents must have taught it to her before I was born, I think. You just reminded me of it."

"...What's it about?"

Mithos tilted his head to one side and then to the other, as if he were thinking about it, and when he next opened his mouth he began to sing instead. It was a gentle but lilting tune, and Mithos's voice was clear and carried it well, even if it was also just as clearly untrained. Genis knew only a small bit of old elvish, since there hadn't been any other elves to learn it from, but he could make out words like "hero" and "story" and some of the basic grammar, at least. "...Is it a song about Mithos the Hero? You were named after him, after all."

"Mm... Something like that. But instead of being about that hero, I think I want the version I sing to be about you instead." Mithos dragged his knees up to his chest. "You're going to be an amazing hero one day, Genis. Maybe they'll write songs about you, too."

"Ahaha, I doubt it. Half the time I feel like no one's going to appreciate what we're doing." Genis sat back, leaning on his hands. "But I guess I'd like it if I could..."

He was just saying what had popped into his head, but trailed off before that thought could finish. He couldn't say something like that out loud, and definitely not directly to Mithos!

"If you could what?"

Or maybe he could. "...If I could be your hero. Even though you're the one always helping me out..."

"...Genis." Something in Mithos's voice caught his attention, and he looked back at his friend, who was now looking straight at him too. "You've already saved me more than you can ever know."

"Huh? That can't possibly be true. ...But it'd be nice."

They were silent again for a few moments, but the song Mithos had sang was caught in Genis's brain, and he was tapping out the melody with one finger. "Hey, Mithos?"

"Yes?"

"Do you still have that ocarina we gave you?"

"Of course I do." He pulled it out from a pocket somewhere, and it was still in pristine condition. It was kind of embarrassing how fast that had been, though. "Did you want it for something?"

"Well, I..." It wasn't like Genis was actually good at music, and he definitely wasn't formally trained in playing an instrument. At best, there had been a neighbor of theirs in Iselia who had let him fool around with their guitar every once in a while, talking about how they'd make him into a better musician than mage, and now he knew his chords and that was it. But right now, not a single bit of that mattered. "If, um, if you want your song to be about me, then I'd want my song to be about you...so why don't we try playing together?"

There was a peculiar look on Mithos's face when he said that, like Genis had just said something that meant more than he'd realized. "Yes," Mithos said while nodding, "that sounds nice. It'll be our song."

Mithos smiled at him, and even for how embarrassing it had been to say all that, it had been worth it. Genis took the ocarina from Mithos and took a moment to remember how to get each note right. "I'm amazed you know how to play something like that."

"Well, we used this to call one of the summon spirits, and I was the one who played it!" Only because no one else wanted to, but that was beside the point.

"You really are amazing. The spirits don't respond to just anyone, you know."

"I-I don't know about that..." Even more embarrassing than the cheesy stuff Genis was saying was how Mithos just seemed to take it all in stride to keep complimenting him. At least he'd succeeded in his goal of Mithos thinking he was cool. "Um, do you want to try going together now?"

"Sure. You have to start, though."

Genis took a deep breath. He was pretty sure he could still remember the melody well enough, he was sure he could do it. He put his lips to the ocarina and began to play--and after a few counts, Mithos began to sing.

It wasn't...perfect. Mithos knew the tune and the pitch, and Genis kept having to adjust whenever he missed and went off-key. That combined with the fact that he was technically still supposed to be catching his breath from all their activity earlier meant he couldn't even sustain playing it for very long, and he kept having to pause to take another breath to keep going. It wasn't perfect by a long shot, but it was still exactly the way it should've been, as far as Genis was concerned.


End file.
